When you run a tiny business in which you are the only employee you do everything yourself. You make every decision, you create all the products, do all the design work and all the writing, you do all the outreach, bookkeeping, marketing, and teaching…you do all the everything! It's fantastic! Except sometimes it's a bit scary and a bit lonely.
Every now and then you come to a crossroad and
you aren't sure which is the best path to take. Sometimes a problem crops up and you need to get a second opinion before you present a solution. When you're in business by yourself it's really best if you have someone who can tell you the truth about what they are
seeing and push you to take the next step.
My husband, my sister, and my
friends have all been helpful over the years, but nobody understands the
particulars better than a fellow owner of a craft business. And for me,
truly nobody would understand them better than someone who has a softies
pattern business.
Many months ago Stacey Trock became that person for me, and I became that person for her. What began as an email exchange regarding a business article we'd both read quickly developed into a relationship we call "business buddies."
Stacey’s business is FreshStitches,
a crocheted softies company. She's
written three books, she teaches, she designs patterns, she blogs. Stacey is a superstar and she's always learning and thinking ahead. Our
businesses are by no means identical, but they are similar in so many
underlying ways.
Our friendship has recently led to some neat opportunities. This month we are co-hosting WhipUp writing about our shared love of making beautiful things from humble materials. Catch our posts there each Friday.
And now we are so excited to share with you a softie pattern we have created together. Say hello to Pepper, a very special plush penguin. What’s unique about Pepper and what
we’re both really excited about is that he's a 2-in-1 pattern: he can be
crocheted OR sewn (or both!). Same Pepper two ways!
I'm not sure I've ever seen 2-in-1 crochet + sew pattern for a softie (or anything else?) before. Think of the potential for mixing and matching, you know? Sew
Pepper and then crochet him some winter accessories or crochet pepper and sew
him a hat and scarf. Develop your skills while making twin penguins. So fun!
Are you excited about Pepper? We hope so! He’ll be available in both of our
shops on Wednesday, March 20.Three cheers for collaborations with amazing people!
How cute are they! I love how each one is unique 😀
Thank you! We feel like they are brothers!
Oh my goodness!! They are so adorable together, I love it. I’m so glad you found a buddy, too. I’m working on building a group for the exact same reason! It’s so important to have consultants for this stuff. And, I’m lucky to also count you (and your blog) as a part of that crew for me!
I follow both of you and consider you both my personal mentors. I started my small business at the end of January and still have to work full time but listen and read everything you both say so someday I can be doing what I love full time, just like you.. I couldn’t think of two better people to work as a team. You both inspire and teach me every day. I just love Pepper and know he’s going to be a success.
I follow both of you and consider you both my personal mentors. I started my small business at the end of January and still have to work full time but listen and read everything you both say so someday I can be doing what I love full time, just like you.. I couldn’t think of two better people to work as a team. You both inspire and teach me every day. I just love Pepper and know he’s going to be a success.
Yeah! I’ll put the date on my calendar. Penguins for everybody!
Neat! It’s cool how things that are easy in crochet (striped scarf) are a pain in sewing (unless you just used striped fabric of course) and things that are easy in sewing (colors on both sides of scarf) are more work in crocheting.
Yay! Thanks, Melissa. It is super important to have people to speak frankly with about your business and I so appreciate our community of makers!
Hi Margaret,
That's so great to hear! Stacey is such an inspiration to me!
This is so true, Justine. Stacey and I had some great chats about the differences between our crafts while we were designing this guy. We felt like the variations our different media demanded just made him more interesting to look at and to make.
I like the term Business Buddies. Such an excellent thing to have ! I have a group of colleagues (other professional photographers) I get together with every 3 weeks or so for an hour, we call it our OMG (Ongoing Motivational Group). We bounce ideas around, mostly business things,and use it to do the tasks we all procrastinate on, like revising our websites, or producing marketing materials, or following up on personal projects–it is so easy to put things off when you work alone and don’t have to be accountable. Side bonus-we are very honest with each other, in a way that friends & family can’t be.
Hi Gale,
Your OMG groups sounds terrific. Nobody understands the inside of your business like a fellow business owner in your same industry. And the honesty piece is so crucial (and hard to come by). Thanks for your comment.
Abby